The People’s Lawyer

West Virginia ranked in the top 10 for traffic danger

by | Apr 2, 2019 | Personal Injury Claims

Traffic accidents sometimes turn fatal. A recent report suggests that West Virginia may be one of the deadlier states for driving in the nation.

The report is by 24/7 Wall Street. It looked at population and motor vehicle fatality data for 2018 to estimate the traffic death rate for each state.

According to the report, in West Virginia, there were 16.34 traffic fatalities for every 100,000 people in 2018. This is well above the national rate, which was around 12 per 100,000.

West Virginia was in the top 10 for moto vehicle fatality rate, being ranked No. 8 overall.

This was a higher rank than any of the state’s neighbors. In fact, only one of the states neighboring West Virginia was even in the top 30. This was Kentucky, with a rank of No. 10.

Many things can impact how likely serious auto accidents are out on a state’s roads. Some examples include:

  • Road conditions
  • Weather conditions
  • State traffic laws
  • Enforcement policies
  • Driver behavior and attitudes

What do you think is contributing to West Virginia’s particularly high traffic fatality rate? In your opinion, how safely do West Virginia drivers in general act out on the roads?

Another thing the report indicates is that the state’s rural roads see more motor vehicle deaths than its urban ones. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of West Virginia’s traffic fatalities in 2018 happened on rural roads. This is the 17th highest percentage of rural road deaths in the country.

What do you think are the most dangerous roads in the state? What do you think would most help make them safer?

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